The cold of the night
by shadowhawk86
Summary: Harry grew up hated and cold relying only on himself. Thrust into a new world, unwilling to play hero or pawn what will become of this mysterious young boy? Will be H/D.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters but I wish I did.

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A young boy almost five years old say alone and shivering form the cold in a small cupboard. Bruises were visible on the small boys torso, arms and legs, but for the boy he was just thankful that it was not worse. Jaded emerald eyes that no child should possess at such a young age or even at all looked out from beneath shaggy might night coloured hair. The boy lay painfully back onto his small cot and looked up onto the ceiling.

"Why? Why did you leave me mummy? Daddy? What did I do wrong?".

_Flashback_

The boy had had his first day at school today and he was very excited until the teacher called register. As each name was called some one shouted here. This confused the small boy who never knew his own name as the only titles he was called by were boy or freak. So when the name Harry Potter was called the boy did not answer and only when the teacher stood in front of him and looked down pointedly at him did he say here.

Harry Potter. My name is Harry Potter. the small boy was feeling very pleased to know this information and that evening when his uncle had shouted at him and called him by the name Freak he innocently replied that his name was Harry. That resulted in the worst beating he had ever received and was thus how he came to be in such a pitiful condition shivering alone in the cold.

"Why does no-one care? I hate you? Why did you leave." And with that Harry sobbed into his thin blanket and a piece of that childish innocence that he already had so little of shattered into the night.

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Eight year old Harry Potter learned his lessons well while living in the Dursleys. The rules were simple to understand. Don't ask questions. Keep out of the way unless instructed- normally for chores. Never do better than Dudley and don't do anything freaky. Harry knew that he was a freak but he never meant to be. Things just happened and he couldn't explain it. Every time something happened his aunt and uncle would get angry and he would be severely punished. They would shout and scream at him what a worthless freak he was and that they should never have taken him in. If Harry had not feared the consequences he would have asked them why they did keep him when they so obviously hated him. But alas he had a healthy dose of self preservation that had been cultivated during the seven years in the care of his relatives.

Harry's only refuge in his life was surprisingly the library. He had discovered it at six years old had had been a frequent visitor ever since. He was a very bright boy but he made sure never to do better than Dudley in any of his classes and since the boy had the IQ of a rotten pea Harry had to make sure that he seemed like an idiot. Even though he never did the required work he made sure that he understood everything. If anybody had taken the time to notice the small boy who kept away from everybody (due to his bulling cousin) they would have been amazed at the talented youngster. Harry spent most of his free time within the confines of the library learning as much as he could so that one day he could be free of his terrible family. He studied everything he could from Mathematic to History and even languages which with the help of the audio section picked up very easily. They just seemed easy to him. Of course the library was also the one place that his relatives would never look for him and he doubted very much that Dudley even knew what a book was.

As Harry grew many things changed. His relatives still considered him a freak and still beat him if he did anything wrong or even if he did anything right. Harry understood that nothing that he did would effect the way in which he was treated and therefore kept himself as meek as possible in their presence. It was a trick he had discovered a few years previously that if his uncle thought him broken then any punishments would never be as bad. He developed a mask for the time the house that helped to ensure his survival.

Harry never had much of the childish innocence that normal children seem to have and what he did possess was beaten from him. He became cold to those around him and learned never to show his emotions. After all they would only hurt him. People were all the same to young Harry-they couldn't be trusted. How could you trust the relatives who beat you? How could you trust the other children who bullied you because they were told he was a freak by his cousin? How could you trust the teachers at the school who saw what was happening, who saw the bruises and yet did nothing?

Yes Harry was a cold boy who knew that he could only rely on him self. He knew how the world worked and he knew that no-one would ever get through his barriers that he had erected inside his mind to protect him. He also knew that he had a gift.

At first when Harry discovered that he could do things he was slightly wary, this was after all what made him a freak and why his life was so horrible, but then he realised that it was a gift and that if he could control it he would be able to protect himself from his uncle. So he practiced every night in his cupboard. At first he moved small objects then he discovered he could make things change. Like he could change his thin blanket to make it thicker if he was cold. He also used his magic to heal himself when his uncle beat him, but only to the extent where he could survive and move easily. The memories of when his uncle beat him severely one night to find him completely healed the next morning still made him shake.

Ten years after Harry was left with his relatives he sat alone in his cupboard practicing his magic. Something was bothering him. He didn't know what it was but be knew that something big was going to happen but he didn't know if it would be good or bad for him and he was unsure if he wanted to find out.

The following morning a letter arrived for him.


End file.
